Image pickup device for vehicle, vehicle lamp and electronic control unit

ABSTRACT

The present invention is provided with: an outer housing configured from a housing having an opening, and a translucent cover closing the opening; a substrate disposed inside of the outer hosing; a camera module, which has an image pickup element, and is disposed on the substrate; and a light emitting element, which is provided as a light source, and is disposed on the substrate. Consequently, since the camera module and the light emitting element are disposed on the substrate that is disposed inside of the outer housing, the number of configuration components is small, thereby achieving reduction of the number of components, and size reduction.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an image pickup device for vehicle, avehicle lamp, and an electronic control unit.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

-   Patent Document 1: JP-A-2011-184030

RELATED ART

A vehicle lamp, in which a light source configured to emit light into anouter housing comprising a translucent cover and a housing and a cameramodule configured to capture a predetermined region are disposed, hasbeen known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

The vehicle lamp is used with being mounted to both right and left sidesurfaces of a vehicle body, as side turn signal lamps, for example. Aregion ranging from the rear to the side is captured by the cameramodule, and a picked-up image is displayed on a screen of a displaydisposed in a vehicle interior.

A driver can perceive a situation of the region ranging from the rear tothe side and drive a vehicle in correspondence to the perceivedsituation by visually recognizing the left image and the right imagesdisplayed on the screen of the display.

The vehicle lamp is provided, so that the region ranging from the rearto the side is captured by the camera module. Therefore, it is possibleto manufacture a vehicle with no side-view mirror. Also, since apredetermined region is captured by the vehicle lamp, the vehicle lampis used as an image pickup device for vehicle, too.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved

In the vehicle lamp having a light source and a camera module, thecamera module is embedded, so that an outer shape of the lamp fitting islikely to be enlarged as much as that. Also, since at least a part isdisposed with protruding outward from the vehicle body, the lamp fittingis required to be made as small as possible so as to reduce a protrusionamount from the vehicle body.

However, like the vehicle lamp disclosed in Patent Document 1, accordingto the configuration where a chassis is disposed in the outer housing, asubstrate is mounted to the chassis, and the camera module is kept at aholder, many constitutional components are disposed in the outerhousing, so that the number of components increases and the size alsoincreases as the number of components increases.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and anobject thereof is to reduce the number of components and the size.

Means for Solving Problems

As a first invention, a vehicle lamp of the present invention includesan outer housing comprising a housing having an opening and atranslucent cover configured to close the opening, a substrate disposedin the outer housing, a camera module comprising an image pickup elementand disposed on the substrate, and a light emitting element provided asa light source and disposed on the substrate.

Thereby, the camera module and the light emitting element are disposedon the substrate disposed in the outer housing.

As a second invention, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention, thecamera module and the light emitting element are preferably disposed onthe same surface of the substrate.

Thereby, a wiring pattern for the light emitting element and a wiringpattern for the camera module can be made to be adjacent to each otheror can be used in common.

As a third invention, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention,preferably, a pressing member disposed in the outer housing and mountedto the housing is provided, and the substrate is pressed by the pressingmember and is thus positioned relative to the housing.

In this way, the pressing member is mounted to the housing, so that thesubstrate is positioned relative to the housing.

As a fourth invention, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention,preferably, a part of the pressing member is provided as a light shieldpart for shielding a part of light to be emitted from the light emittingelement.

Thereby, the pressing member for pressing the substrate and positioningthe substrate relative to the housing functions as a light shield partfor shielding a part of light to be emitted from the light emittingelement, too.

As a fifth invention, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention,preferably, an effective incident region of a capturing light of theimage pickup element is formed into a shape having a longitudinaldirection and a width direction, and the image pickup element isdisposed in a direction in which the longitudinal direction of theeffective incident region is an upper and lower direction.

Thereby, it is possible to capture a vertically long image by the cameramodule, so that a sufficient angle of view is secured in the upper andlower direction.

As a sixth invention, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention,preferably, an optical axis of the camera module is inclined moredownward than a horizontal direction.

Thereby, a downward capturing range of the camera module increases.

As a seventh invention, in the vehicle lamp of the present invention,preferably, the translucent cover is provided with a transmission windowthrough which a capturing light to be incident on the camera module isto pass, and the translucent cover is provided with a light shield partfor preventing a light, which is to be emitted from the light emittingelement and to be guided along an inside of the translucent cover, fromentering into the transmission window.

Thereby, the light, which is guided along the inside of the translucentcover upon emission of the light from the light emitting element, isprevented from entering into the transmission window by the light shieldpart.

In an eighth invention, an image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention includes a camera module of which a capturing range isset as a region ranging from the rear to the side, including a part of aside surface of a vehicle body, wherein when an image is captured anddisplayed on a screen by the camera module, at least the part of theside surface is covered or made unclear on the screen by an imagedistinction means, so that the side surface and a part except for theside surface are visually distinguished.

Thereby, upon the capturing of the camera module, the screen is visuallyrecognized at a state where at least the part of the side surface of thevehicle body is covered or made unclear.

As a ninth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, a shade for shielding a part of thecapturing light to be incident on the camera module is provided as theimage distinction means.

Thereby, a part of the capturing light is shielded by the shade, so thatthe side surface and a part except for the side surface are visuallydistinguished.

As a tenth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, the housing and the shade are integrallyformed.

Thereby, the side surface and a part except for the side surface arevisually distinguished without increasing the number of components.

As an eleventh invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, the translucent cover is formed with astep as the image distinction means.

Thereby, a part of the capturing light to be incident on the cameramodule is controlled by the step, so that the side surface and a partexcept for the side surface are visually distinguished.

As a twelfth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, the translucent cover is formed with acolored part having a predetermined color, as the image distinctionmeans.

Thereby, an image in which the side surface is colored is displayed onthe screen, so that the side surface and a part except for the sidesurface are visually distinguished.

As a thirteenth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, an image processing unit configured toprocess an image captured by the camera module is provided as the imagedistinction means.

Thereby, the side surface and a part except for the side surface arevisually distinguished by predetermined image processing of the imageprocessing unit.

In a fourteenth invention, a vehicle lamp of the present inventionincludes the image pickup device for vehicle and a light source.

Thereby, upon the capturing of the camera module, the screen is visuallyrecognized at a state where at least the part of the side surface of thevehicle body is covered or made unclear.

In a fifteenth invention, an electronic control unit of the presentinvention is configured so that when an image is captured and displayedon a screen by a camera module of which a capturing range is set as aregion ranging from the rear to the side, including a part of a sidesurface of a vehicle body, at least the part of the side surface iscovered or made unclear on the screen by an image distinction means andthe side surface and a part except for the side surface are thusvisually distinguished.

Thereby, upon the capturing of the camera module, the screen is visuallyrecognized at a state where at least the part of the side surface of thevehicle body is covered or made unclear.

In a sixteenth invention, an image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention includes an outer housing comprising a housing havingan opening and a translucent cover configured to close the opening, acamera module having an image pickup element and disposed in the outerhousing, and a nozzle having a discharge hole configured to discharge afluid, wherein the translucent cover is provided with a transmissionwindow through which a capturing light to be incident on the cameramodule is to pass, and the discharge hole is made to face toward thetransmission window.

Thereby, the fluid that is discharged from the nozzle is ejected to thetransmission window, so that foreign matters attached on thetransmission window are removed.

As a seventeenth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle ofthe present invention, preferably, a light emitting element functioningas a light source configured to emit a light is disposed in the outerhousing.

Thereby, the light emitted from the light emitting element isilluminated outside.

As an eighteenth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle ofthe present invention, preferably, the housing and the nozzle areintegrally formed.

Thereby, the fluid is discharged from the nozzle integrally provided atthe housing.

As a nineteenth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, a high-pressure air is used as the fluid.

Thereby, various kinds of foreign matters including liquid attached tothe transmission window can be removed.

As a twentieth invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle of thepresent invention, preferably, an outer surface of at least thetransmission window of the translucent cover is water repellentfinished.

Thereby, drops of water are difficult to be attached to the transmissionwindow.

As a twenty first invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle ofthe present invention, preferably, the fluid is discharged from thenozzle upon startup of an engine of a vehicle.

Thereby, each before the vehicle starts to travel, the foreign mattersattached to the transmission window are removed.

As a twenty second invention, in the image pickup device for vehicle ofthe present invention, preferably, the fluid is discharged from thenozzle upon shift to a back gear of a vehicle.

Thereby, each before the vehicle starts to travel rearward, the foreignmatters attached to the transmission window are removed.

Effects of the Invention

According to the present invention, since the camera module and thelight emitting element are disposed on the substrate disposed in theouter housing, the number of the constitutional components is small, sothat it is possible to reduce the number of components and the size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle, depicting an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention together with FIGS. 2 to 36.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle lamp.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the vehicle lamp, depicting aninternal structure with a broken line.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the vehicle lamp, depicting apart of the internal structure with a solid line.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a line V-V of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a housing.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged rear view of the housing.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a translucent cover.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of the translucent cover.

FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional view of the translucent cover.

FIG. 11 is a front view depicting a substrate and respective partsdisposed on the substrate.

FIG. 12 is a rear view depicting the substrate and the respective partsdisposed on the substrate.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a pressing member.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram depicting a relation of a camera module, anECU and a display.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective view depicting an example where aheater is disposed at an outer periphery-side of a transmission window.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view depicting a vehicle lamp in which thesubstrate is divided into two substrates.

FIG. 17 is a side view depicting an angle of view of the camera module.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view depicting a function of a light shield partprovided at the translucent cover.

FIG. 19 depicts states before and after a side surface to be displayedin an image is covered.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view depicting an example where a housing isprovided with a shade, as an image distinction means.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view depicting another example where thehousing is provided with the shade, as the image distinction means.

FIG. 22 depicts states before and after an outer edge of a side surfaceto be displayed in an image is covered.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view depicting an example where the translucentcover is formed with a step, as the image distinction means.

FIG. 24 depicts states where a side surface to be displayed in an imageis clear and unclear.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view depicting an example where the translucentcover is provided with a colored part, as the image distinction means.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram depicting an example where an imageprocessing unit is provided as the image distinction means.

FIG. 27 depicts a state before a side surface to be displayed in animage is processed and a state where a computer graphic image issuperimposed on the side surface.

FIG. 28 depicts an example where the side surface is covered by thetranslucent cover.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view depicting a state where the vehicle lampand a high-pressure air generation unit are connected by means of apiping.

FIG. 30 depicts an internal structure of the high-pressure airgeneration unit.

FIG. 31 is an enlarged sectional view depicting a state where a pistonis located at a top dead center.

FIG. 32 is an enlarged sectional view depicting a state where the pistonis located at a bottom dead center.

FIG. 33 is a sectional view of an initial state, depicting an operationof the high-pressure air generation unit together with FIGS. 34 and 35.

FIG. 34 is a sectional view depicting a state where the piston has movedbetween the top dead center and the bottom dead center.

FIG. 35 is a sectional view depicting a state where the piston has movedto the bottom dead center.

FIG. 36 is a plan view depicting an example where a nozzle is providedfrom a rear surface part to a bottom surface part of the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an illustrative embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. Meanwhile,reference numerals indicating directions are denoted in the respectivedrawings, as necessary. At a state where a vehicle lamp is mounted to avehicle body, U indicates the upward direction, D indicates the downwarddirection, F indicates the forward direction, B indicates the backwarddirection, L indicates the leftward direction and R indicates therightward direction.

In the illustrative embodiment, the present invention is applied to aside turn signal lamp. In the meantime, the present invention is notlimited to the side turn signal lamp, and can be widely applied tovarious vehicle lamp such as a headlamp, a clearance lamp, a tail lamp,a turn signal lamp, a stop lamp, a daytime running lamp, a corneringlamp, a hazard lamp, a position lamp, a back lamp, a fog lamp, ahigh-mount stop lamp, a foot lamp, a combination lamp thereof and thelike inasmuch as a camera module is disposed therein, an image pickupdevice for vehicle relating to the lamp, and an electronic control unittherefor.

Lamp fittings 1,1 for vehicle function as an image pickup device forvehicle, too, and are mounted to both right and left side surfaces 102,102 of a vehicle body 101 of a vehicle 100 (refer to FIG. 1). In themeantime, a structure functioning only as an image pickup device forvehicle may be mounted to the vehicle body 101. In this case, a cameramodule (which will be described later) for capturing is disposed in theimage pickup device for vehicle, but a light source for emitting a lightis not disposed.

As described above, the vehicle lamp 1 functions as an image pickupdevice for vehicle, too, and can capture a region ranging from the rearto the side of the vehicle 100 by a camera module, for example. An image(video picture) captured by the camera module is displayed on eachscreen of displays 200, 200 disposed in a vehicle interior. A left imageand a right image are respectively displayed on the screens of thedisplays 200, 200. In the meantime, one display 200 may be provided inthe vehicle interior, and the display 200 may be provided with twoscreens on which the left image and the right image are to berespectively displayed.

A driver can perceive a situation of the region ranging from the rear tothe side and drive the vehicle in correspondence to the perceivedsituation by visually recognizing the left image and the right imagesdisplayed on the respective screens of the displays 200, 200.

In this way, since the lamp fittings 1, 1 for vehicle can capture theregion ranging from the rear to the side of the vehicle 100, the vehicle100 is not provided with a side-view mirror, so that a size can bereduced.

The vehicle lamp 1 includes a housing 2 and a translucent cover 3 (referto FIGS. 2 to 5). An outer housing 4 is configured by the housing 2 andthe translucent cover 3, and an internal space of the outer housing 4 isformed as a lamp chamber 5.

The housing 2 is formed of a resin material, for example, and has a casepart 6 opening laterally, a cover mounting part 7 continuing to anopening edge of the case part 6, and a protrusion part 8 protrudinglaterally from the case part 6, which are integrally formed.

The case part 6 has an upper surface part 9 facing in an upper and lowerdirection, a lower surface part 10 facing in the upper and lowerdirection, a front surface part 11 facing in a substantial front andback direction, a rear surface part 12 facing in the front and backdirection, and a bottom surface part 13 facing in a right and leftdirection, and side edges of respective one sides of the upper surfacepart 9, the lower surface part 10, the front surface part 11 and therear surface part 12 continue to a peripheral edge of the bottom surfacepart 13.

The front surface part 11 is slightly inclined obliquely downward withrespect to a vertical direction (refer to FIG. 6), and is also inclinedso that an end portion 11 a provided at a side (inner side) of thebottom surface part 13 in the right and left direction is locatedslightly further rearward than an end portion 11 b provided at anopposite side (outer side) to the bottom surface part 13 (refer to FIG.5). A side of the front surface part 11 facing toward the end portion 11a is formed with an arrangement opening 11 c penetrating in the frontand back direction. An inner surface of the front surface part 11 isprovided with positioning protrusions 14, 14 protruding rearward fromboth upper and lower end portions (refer to FIGS. 2 and 5).

The positioning protrusions 14, 14 have receiving surfaces 14 a, 14 afacing rearward and pressing surfaces 14 b, 14 b facing upward ordownward, respectively.

An inner surface of the bottom surface part 13 is provided withrestraint protrusions 13 a, 13 a spaced in the upper and lower direction(refer to FIGS. 2, 5 and 7).

The cover mounting part 7 has a base part 15 having a substantial flatplate shape and extending in the right and left direction, andprojections 16, 16 projecting upward or downward from the respectiveside edges of the upper surface part 9 and the lower surface part 10.The base part 15 is formed at its substantially central portion with ascrew insertion hole 15 a. The projections 16, 16 continue at front endsthereof to a rear end of an outer peripheral portion of the base part15. A positioning rib 17 protruding laterally is provided at a positionextending from the projections 16, 16 to the outer peripheral portion ofthe base part 15. The positioning rib 17 has a concave shape openingrearwards, as a whole.

The protrusion part 8 protrudes laterally from the front surface part11. The protrusion part 8 is inclined in the same directions as thefront surface part 11 with respect to the upper and lower direction andthe right and left direction, is slightly inclined obliquely downwardwith respect to the vertical direction, and is also inclined so that anend portion provided at a side of the front surface part 11 in the rightand left direction is located slightly further rearward than a tip endportion.

The housing 2 is formed integrally with a nozzle 18 at the rear surfacepart 12, for example. The nozzle 18 has a function of discharging afluid (which will be described later) toward a predetermined part of thetranslucent cover 3, and has a discharge part 19 and a coupling cylinderpart 20 continuing to the discharge part 19.

The discharge part 19 is configured so that one end face of a sidethereof is flush with one end face of a side of the rear surface part12. The discharge part 19 has a discharge hole 19 a. An opening of thedischarge hole 19 a has a vertically long shape.

The coupling cylinder part 20 is located at the rear of the rear surfacepart 12 with being spaced from the rear surface part 12. The couplingcylinder part 20 is provided with an annular engaging protrusion 20 aprojecting outward. The coupling cylinder part 20 is coupled with oneend portion of a piping made of rubber, resin or the like, and thepiping is closely contacted and engaged to the engaging protrusion 20 a,so that the piping is prevented from separating from the nozzle 18.

As described above, the housing 2 and the nozzle 18 are integrallyformed, so that the fluid is discharged from the nozzle 18 integrallyformed with the housing 2. Therefore, it is possible to reduce thenumber of components, to simplify the structure of the vehicle lamp 1and to save the manufacturing cost of the vehicle lamp 1.

The translucent cover 3 is formed of a transparent material such asresin, glass or the like, and has a bowl shape opening laterally as awhole, and a length in the front and back direction is longer thanlengths in the upper and lower direction and the right and leftdirection (refer to FIGS. 2, 5, 8, 9 and 10). The translucent cover 3has a curved surface part 21 located at a central portion in the upperand lower direction, an emission surface part 22 continuing to a rearend of the curved surface part 21, a flat plate surface part 23continuing to a rear end of the emission surface part 22, and sidesurface parts 24, 24 continuing to both upper and lower edges of thecurved surface part 21, the emission surface part 22 and the flat platesurface part 23.

The curved surface part 21 has a curved surface shape convex toward anoutside of the vehicle, and a curvature of a half front part thereof isgreater than a rear half part.

The emission surface part 22 is inclined in a direction of coming closeto the side surface 102 of the vehicle body 101 toward the rear. Theemission surface part 22 is formed on its inner surface with opticalsteps 22 a, 22 a, . . . . The optical steps 22 a, 22 a, . . . have afunction of controlling a light emitted from a light emitting element(light source) (which will be described later). The light emitted fromthe light emitting element, passing through the emission surface part 22and facing outward is controlled by the optical steps 22 a, 22 a, . . .and is then illuminated to a predetermined region.

The flat plate surface part 23 is slightly inclined in the front andback direction relative to the right and left direction, and an end edgecontinuing to the emission surface part 22 is located slightly furtherforward than an end edge most spaced from the emission surface part 22.The flat plate surface part 23 is provided with a transmission window 23a having no step, and the transmission window 23 a has an oval shapethat is long in the upper and lower direction, for example. In themeantime, the transmission window 23 a preferably has a shape that islong in the upper and lower direction and is line-symmetric with respectto the upper and lower direction, and may also be formed to have anothershape such as an elliptical shape. Also, the transmission window 23 a islocated in a region in which it does not disturb an angle of view of acamera module (which will be described later).

The flat plate surface part 23 is formed with a light shield part 25 ata position covering an outer periphery of the transmission window 23 a.The light shield part 25 has a black band shape, for example, and isembedded in the flat plate surface part 23. For the light shield part25, a material capable of absorbing and shielding the light or amaterial capable of reflecting and shielding the light may be used. Thedischarge hole 19 a is inclined toward the transmission window 23 a, andas shown in FIG. 5, an extending direction of the discharge hole 19 a isinclined relative to a surface of the transmission window 23 a by anangle θ, and a line segment X inclined by the angle θ intersects withthe transmission window 23 a. In this way, the extending direction ofthe discharge hole 19 a is inclined relative to the surface of thetransmission window 23 a by the angle θ and the line segment Xintersects with the transmission window 23 a, so that a high-pressureair (which will be described later) to be discharged from the dischargehole 19 a is ejected to the surface of the transmission window 23 a andforeign matters attached to the transmission window 23 a can be thussecurely removed.

An inner surface of the translucent cover 3 is formed with steps 3 a, 3a, . . . having a predetermined shape at portions except for theemission surface part 22 and the transmission window 23 a. The steps 3a, 3 a, . . . have a function of diffusing the light. The light incidenton the translucent cover 3 from the outside is diffused by the steps 3a, 3 a, . . . , so that a structure disposed in the outer housing 4 isdifficult to be visually recognized. That is, the translucent cover 3 isformed with the steps 3 a, 3 a, . . . , so that a design property of thevehicle lamp 1 is improved.

As shown in FIG. 5, the translucent cover 3 is contacted to the covermounting part 7 of the housing 2 with being externally fitted to thepositioning rib 17, and is mounted to the cover mounting part 7 byadhesion, laser welding or the like with being positioned relative tothe positioning rib 17.

At the state where the translucent cover 3 is mounted to the covermounting part 7, the opening of the discharge hole 19 a formed in thedischarge part 19 of the nozzle 18 is located in the vicinity of thetransmission window 23 a of the translucent cover 3 (refer to FIGS. 3and 5).

In the meantime, as described above, the curved surface part 21 has anoutward convex curved surface shape, so that the translucent cover 3 isdifficult to be applied with a resistance of wind, which occurs upontraveling of the vehicle 100.

In the outer housing 4, a substrate 26 is disposed (refer to FIGS. 3 and5). The substrate 26 has a substantially rectangular shape facing towardthe front and back direction and long in the right and left direction,and the substrate 26 is formed with a wiring pattern (not shown). Aconnector 27 is disposed at one end portion of a front surface 26 a ofthe substrate 26 in the longitudinal direction (refer to FIGS. 2 and11). The connector 27 protrudes forward from the substrate 26, and hasfunctions of inputting power, outputting a signal of an image capturedby a camera module (which will be described later), and the like. Theconnector 27 is connected with a connection terminal (not shown) of thevehicle 100.

Resistance elements 28, 28, 28 are disposed on the front surface 26 a ofthe substrate 26. The resistance elements 28, 28, 28 have a function ofperforming current control for a light emitting element (which will bedescribed later).

Light emitting elements 29, 29 functioning as a light source aredisposed with being spaced in the upper and lower direction on a rearsurface 26 b of the substrate 26 (refer to FIGS. 2 and 12). The lightemitting elements 29, 29 are disposed at an opposite end portion to theend portion, at which the connector 27 is disposed, in a longitudinaldirection of the substrate 26. As the light emitting elements 29, 29,light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used, for example.

A camera module 30 is mounted on the rear surface 26 b of the substrate26. The camera module 30 is located in the vicinity of the end portion,at which the light emitting elements 29, 29 are disposed, of thesubstrate 26 in the longitudinal direction, and protrudes rearward fromthe substrate 26. The camera module 30 has a substantially cylindricallens tube 31, one or more lenses 32 held at the lens tube 31, and animage pickup element 33 disposed on the substrate 26. The camera module30 is mounted to the substrate 26 by screwing the lens tube 31, forexample.

The image pickup element 33 has a rectangular shape, and is mounted tothe substrate 26 in a direction in which a longitudinal direction is theupper and lower direction. Therefore, the image pickup element 33 isdisposed in a direction in which a longitudinal direction of aneffective incident region of a capturing light, which is to be incidentupon the capturing, is the upper and lower direction. On the other hand,the image pickup element 33 may be inclined upward or downward withrespect to the vertical direction within a predetermined range, forexample, within an angle range of 30°.

Control elements (electronic components) 34, 34, . . . such as a diode,a capacitor and the like are disposed on the front surface 26 a and therear surface 26 b of the substrate 26 (refer to FIGS. 11 and 12). Acontrol circuit is formed on the substrate 26 by the control elements34, 34, . . . , the resistance elements 28, 28, 28, a wiring pattern andthe like.

In the meantime, the control elements 34, 34, . . . and the resistanceelements 28, 28, 28 are preferably disposed at positions spaced as faras possible from the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the cameramodule 30 within a range in which the substrate 26 is not unnecessarilyenlarged. When the control elements 34, 34, . . . and the resistanceelements 28, 28, 28 are disposed at the positions spaced from the lightemitting elements 29, 29 and the camera module 30, an influence of heatsgenerated from the control elements 34, 34, . . . and the resistanceelements 28, 28, 28 on the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the cameramodule 30 can be reduced, so that it is possible to secure favorabledriving states of the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the cameramodule 30.

As described above, the connector 27 and the light emitting elements 29,29 are disposed on the front surface 26 a and the rear surface 26 b ofthe substrate 26, which are opposite surfaces, the connector 27 isdisposed at one end portion in the longitudinal direction, and the lightemitting elements 29, 29 are disposed at the other end portion in thelongitudinal direction.

Therefore, since the connector 27 does not exist at the opposite part tothe part, on which the light emitting elements 29, 29 are disposed, ofthe substrate 26, the heats generated upon driving of the light emittingelements 29, 29 are sufficiently radiated from the part of the frontsurface 26 a, which is the opposite part to the part on which the lightemitting elements 29, 29 are disposed, so that it is possible to securethe favorable driving states (light emitting states) of the lightemitting elements 29, 29, which results from the improvement on the heatradiation.

Also, since a tip end of the camera module 30 mounted to the substrate26 is located further rearward than the light emitting elements 29, 29,the lights emitted from the light emitting elements 29, 29 are difficultto enter into the camera module 30, so that it is possible to improve aquality of an image to be captured by the camera module 30.

Furthermore, in the vehicle lamp 1, the camera module 30 is mounted tothe substrate 26, which the light emitting elements 29, 29 are disposedthereon and is provided so as to feed power to the light emittingelements 29, 29, and the substrate 26 is used in common as a substratefor feeding power to both the light emitting elements 29, 29 and thecamera module 30. In particular, in the vehicle lamp 1, a power supplycircuit (GND, VCC) can be used as a common line.

Therefore, the number of components can be reduced and an internal spaceof the outer housing 4 is reduced, so that it is possible to reduce asize of the vehicle lamp 1 and to save the manufacturing cost thereof.

Also, the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the camera module 30 aredisposed on the rear surface 26 b of the substrate 26, so that the lightemitting elements 29, 29 and the camera module 30 are disposed on thesame surface of the substrate 26.

In this way, since the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the cameramodule 30 are disposed on the same surface of the substrate 26, it ispossible to closely form a wiring pattern for the light emittingelements 29, 29 and a wiring pattern for the camera module 30 or to usethe wiring pattern in common, so that it is possible to easily form thesubstrate 26 and to save the manufacturing cost.

As described above, the substrate 26 having the connector 27, the lightemitting elements 29, 29, the camera module 30 and the like disposedthereon is inserted into the case part 6 of the housing 2 from the endportion at which the connector 27 is disposed, and is disposed in thehousing 2 (refer to FIG. 5). The substrate 26 is contacted to therestraint protrusions 13 a, 13 a of the bottom surface part 13 at oneend face thereof in the longitudinal direction (the right and leftdirection), so that the substrate is positioned relative to the housing2 in the longitudinal direction. Also, both the upper and lower endportions of the front surface 26 a are contacted to the receivingsurfaces 14 a, 14 a of the positioning protrusions 14, 14 of the frontsurface part 11, so that the substrate 26 is positioned relative to thehousing 2 in a thickness direction (the front and back direction).

Furthermore, both the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 26 arecontacted with being pressed to the pressing surface 14 b, 14 b of thepositioning protrusions 14, 14 of the front surface part 11, so that thesubstrate is positioned relative to the housing 2 in a width direction(the upper and lower direction).

At a state where the substrate 26 is inserted in the case part 6, a tipend portion of the connector 27 is located in the arrangement opening 11c formed in the front surface part 11, the camera module 30 is locatedfurther laterally (outward) than the rear surface part 12, and the lens32 located at the rearmost side with the translucent cover 3 beingmounted to the housing 2 is located with facing the transmission window23 a of the translucent cover 3.

In the meantime, at the state where the substrate 26 is inserted in thecase part 6, the tip end portion of the connector 27 is located in thearrangement opening 11 c formed in the front surface part 11 and doesnot protrude forward beyond the front surface part 11. When mounting thevehicle lamp 1 to the vehicle body 101, the case part 6 of the housing 2is inserted in an insertion hole 102 a of the side surface 102 but theconnector 27 does not protrude forward beyond the front surface part 11.Therefore, upon the insertion of the case part 6 into the insertion hole102 a, the connector 27 is not contacted to the side surface 102.Therefore, it is possible to smoothly and easily mount the vehicle lamp1 to the vehicle body 101, so that it is possible to improve theoperability when mounting the vehicle lamp 1 to the vehicle body 101.

As described above, since the front surface part 11 and the protrusionpart 8 continuing to the front surface part 11 are slightly inclinedobliquely downward with respect to the vertical direction, the substrate26 is disposed with being slightly inclined obliquely downward withrespect to the vertical direction along the front surface part 11 andthe protrusion part 8 (refer to FIG. 7). Therefore, at the state wherethe vehicle lamp 1 is mounted to the vehicle body 101, an optical axis Pof the camera module 30 is slightly inclined obliquely downward withrespect to the horizontal direction.

Also, as described above, since the front surface part 11 and theprotrusion part 8 are inclined so that the inner end portions thereof inthe right and left direction are located slightly further rearward thanthe outer end portions, the substrate 26 is disposed with being inclinedalong the front surface part 11 and the protrusion part 8 in the rightand left direction, too (refer to FIG. 5). Therefore, at the state wherethe vehicle lamp 1 is mounted to the vehicle body 101, the optical axisP of the camera module 30 is slightly inclined outward with respect tothe front and back direction.

At the state where the substrate 26 is inserted in the case part 6, theend portion of the substrate 26 in the longitudinal direction, at whichthe camera module 30 is mounted, is located slightly further laterally(outward) than the protrusion part 8.

In the meantime, the substrate 26 has a dark color such as black, darkblue, green or the like. The substrate 26 has a dark color, so that thelights emitted from the light emitting elements 29, 29 are difficult tobe reflected on the substrate 26. Thereby, it is possible to prevent theunnecessary reflection of the lights. In particular, since the lightsemitted from the light emitting elements 29, 29 are difficult to bereflected on the substrate 26, the lights emitted from the lightemitting elements 29, 29 are difficult to enter into the camera module30, so that it is possible to improve a quality of an image to becaptured by the camera module 30.

In the outer housing 4, a pressing member 35 is disposed and thesubstrate 26 is pressed by the pressing member 35. The respective partsof the pressing member 35 are integrally formed by a resin material, andthe pressing member has a pressing part 36 and a functioning part 37(refer to FIGS. 2, 5 and 13).

The pressing part 36 has a case shape opening laterally as a whole, andhas a base surface part 38 having a curved surface shape, facing surfaceparts 39, 39 protruding laterally (inward) from both upper and lower endedges of the base surface part 38, and a shaft part to be mounted 40protruding from the base surface part 38 in the same direction as thefacing surface part 39. The base surface part 38 has a substantiallylaterally (outward) convex curved surface shape. The facing surfaceparts 39, 39 are located with facing each other in the upper and lowerdirection. The shaft part to be mounted 40 protrudes from asubstantially central portion of the base surface part 38 and has acylindrical shape.

The functioning part 37 has a base surface part 41 facing in the frontand back direction, pressing surface parts 42, 42 protruding forwardfrom both upper and lower end edges of the base surface part 41 andfacing in the front and back direction, coupling surface parts 43, 43protruding upward or downward from front edges of the pressing surfaceparts 42, 42, and a covering surface part 44 continuing to one side edge(outer edge) of the base surface part 41.

A length of each of the pressing surface parts 42, 42 in the right andleft direction is greater than a length of the base surface part 41 inthe right and left direction, and portions thereof protrude furtherlaterally (inward) than the base surface part 41. The pressing surfaceparts 42, 42 are formed at portions, which continue to the base surfacepart 41, of rear surfaces thereof with contact surfaces 42 a, 42 a. Thecontact surface 42 a is located at a substantially central portion ofthe pressing surface part 42 in the right and left direction, and facesrearward.

The pressing surface parts 42, 42 are provided on front surfaces thereofwith two pressing protrusions 42 b, 42 b spaced in the right and leftdirection, respectively. The pressing protrusion 42 b has a forwardconvex semi-spherical shape, for example.

The coupling surface parts 43, 43 have a shape extending in the rightand left direction and face in the front and back direction.

The covering surface part 44 has a semicircular arc shape openinglaterally (inward). The covering surface part 44 continues to the basesurface part 41 and the pressing surface parts 42, 42, and the pressingmember 35 is formed with a circular capturing hole 35 a penetrating inthe front and back direction by the base surface part 41 and thepressing surface part 44.

A front end portion of one end portion in the right and left directionof the pressing surface part 42 of the functioning part 37 and one endportion in the right and left direction of the covering surface part 44are coupled by a rear end portion of the base surface part 38 andcoupling protrusions 45, 45, 45. The coupling protrusions 45, 45, 45 arespaced in the upper and lower direction.

One end portions in the right and left direction of the coupling surfaceparts 43, 43 of the functioning part 37 are coupled by rear end portionsof the facing surface parts 39, 39 and coupling part 46, 46. Thecoupling part 46, 46 protrude from rear end portions of one end portionsin the right and left direction of the facing surface parts 39, 39.

The pressing member 35 is formed with light transmission holes 35 b, 35b penetrating in the front and rear direction and spaced in the upperand lower direction between the coupling protrusions 45, 45, 45. Thelights emitted from the light emitting elements 29, 29 pass through thelight transmission holes 35 b, 35 b. Therefore, a part of the pressingmember 35 around the light transmission holes 35 b, 35 b functions as alight shield part for shielding portions of the lights emitted from thelight emitting elements 29, 29.

In this way, the pressing member 35 is provided with a light shield partfor shielding portions of the lights emitted from the light emittingelements 29, 29. Therefore, the pressing member 35 configured to pressthe substrate 26 and to position the same relative to the housing 2functions as a shade for shielding portions of the lights emitted fromthe light emitting elements 29, 29, so that it is possible to simplifythe structure and to save the manufacturing cost by reducing the numberof components of the vehicle lamp 1.

The pressing member 35 is disposed in the outer housing 4 with a partthereof being inserted in the case part 6 of the housing 2 (refer toFIG. 5). The pressing member 35 is mounted to the housing 2 by screwinga mounting screw 500 inserted in the screw insertion hole 15 a of thebase part 15 into the shaft part to be mounted 40.

When a part of the pressing member 35 is inserted in the case part 6,one end face of the substrate 26 in the longitudinal direction ispressed laterally (inward) by a portion of the base surface part 38 ofthe pressing member 35, and the other end face of the substrate 26 inthe longitudinal direction is pressed to the restraint protrusions 13 a,13 a provided for the bottom surface part 13 of the housing 2, so thatthe positioning of the substrate 26 relative to the housing 2 in thelongitudinal direction is completed.

Also, when a part of the pressing member 35 is inserted in the case part6, the contact surfaces 42 a, 42 a are contacted to the inner surface ofthe rear surface part 12 of the housing 2, and the rear surface part 12is pressed rearward by the pressing member 35, so that the pressingmember 35 is applied with a forward reaction from the rear surface part12. By the reaction to the pressing member 35 from the rear surface part12, the substrate 26 is pressed forward by the pressing protrusions 42b, 42 b, . . . , so that both the upper and lower end portions of thefront surface 26 a of the substrate 26 are respectively pressed to thereceiving surfaces 14 a, 14 a of the positioning protrusion 14.Therefore, the positioning of the substrate 26 in the thicknessdirection (the front and back direction) is completed.

In this way, the vehicle lamp 1 is provided with the pressing member 35,which is disposed in the outer housing 4 and is mounted to the housing2, and the substrate 26 is pressed by the pressing member 35 and is thuspositioned relative to the housing 2.

Therefore, when the pressing member 35 is mounted to the housing 2, thesubstrate 26 is positioned relative to the housing 2, so that it ispossible to easily position the substrate 26 relative to the housing 2and to easily and securely dispose the light emitting elements 29, 29and the camera module 30 on the substrate 26 in the necessarydirections.

At the state where the substrate 26 is positioned relative to thehousing 2 by the pressing member 35, the light emitting elements 29, 29are located right in front of the light transmission holes 35 b, 35 b ofthe pressing member 35, and the light emitting elements 29, 29, thelight transmission holes 35 b, 35 b and the emission surface part 22 ofthe translucent cover 3 are sequentially located side by side in thefront and back direction. In the meantime, the emission surface part 22is located with being inclined relative to the optical axes of the lightemitting elements 29, 29.

Also, at the state where the substrate 26 is positioned relative to thehousing 2 by the pressing member 35, the camera module 30 is locatedright in front of the capturing hole 35 a of the pressing member 35, andthe camera module 30, the capturing hole 35 a and the transmissionwindow 23 a of the translucent cover 3 are sequentially located side byside in the front and back direction.

Upon the capturing, the capturing light having passed through thetransmission window 23 a is incident on the lens 32 of the camera module30 through the capturing hole 35 a. In the meantime, the rear surfacepart 12 of the housing 2 located right beside the transmission window 23a is not provided with the positioning rib 17. Therefore, while passingthrough the transmission window 23 a, the capturing light is notshielded by a part of the housing 2, so that it is possible to easilyset an angle of view necessary for the camera module 30.

Furthermore, at the state where the substrate 26 is positioned relativeto the housing 2 by the pressing member 35, a part of the housing 2including the protrusion part 8, a part of the substrate 26, the lightemitting elements 29, 29 and the camera module 30 are covered from theside (the outer side) by the pressing part 36 of the pressing member 35.

Therefore, the pressing part 36 functions as an extension for shadingthe structure disposed in the outer housing 4, too. Thereby, when thevehicle lamp 1 is seen from the outside, the structure disposed in theouter housing 4 is difficult to be seen through the translucent cover 3,so that it is possible to improve the appearance of the vehicle lamp 1.

Also, the pressing member 35 positions the substrate 26 relative to thehousing 2 and the pressing part 36 functions as an extension, so that itis not necessary to separately provide a positioning member and anextension. As a result, it is possible to simplify the structure and tosave the manufacturing cost by reducing the number of components of thevehicle lamp 1.

In the vehicle lamp 1 configured as described above, when the lights areemitted from the light emitting elements 29, 29, the emitted lights areincident on the emission surface part 22 of the translucent cover 3through the light transmission holes 35 b, 35 b of the pressing member35, are controlled by the optical steps 22 a, 22 a, . . . of theemission surface part 22 and are illuminated to a region ranging fromthe rear to the side.

At this time, since the two light emitting elements 29, 29 spaced in theupper and lower direction are disposed in the vehicle lamp 1, it ispossible to easily illuminate the lights at a predetermined emissionangle in the upper and lower direction. In particular, it is necessaryto illuminate the light from the side turn signal lamp at an angle of15° or greater in the upper and lower direction on the basis of thehorizontal direction, due to the regulations. The two light emittingelements 29, 29 are disposed with being spaced in the upper and lowerdirection, so that it is possible to easily and sufficiently illuminatethe lights, satisfying the illumination angle of the regulations. Likethis, according to the vehicle lamp 1, since it is possible to easilyand sufficiently illuminate the lights, satisfying the illuminationangle of the regulations, it may be possible to omit the optical steps22 a, 22 a, . . . of the emission surface part 22.

In the meantime, when the camera module 30 is operated in the vehiclelamp 1, the capturing is performed by the camera module 30. Thecapturing is respectively performed by the camera module 30 of thevehicle lamp 1 disposed on the left side surface 102 of the vehicle 100and the camera module 30 of the vehicle lamp 1 disposed on the rightside surface 102 of the vehicle 100. The images (video pictures)captured by the camera modules 30, 30 are respectively displayed onscreens of the displays 200, 200 disposed in the vehicle interior, asleft image and right images.

When the capturing is performed by the right camera module 30 and theleft camera module 30, respectively, the capturing lights arerespectively photoelectrically converted by the image pickup elements33, 33, and capturing signals are transmitted to an ECU (electroniccontrol unit) 300 (refer to FIG. 14). The ECU 300 transmits imagesignals based on the input capturing signals to the displays 200, 200,so that the right and left images are respectively displayed on therespective screens of the right display 200 and the left display 200.

The respective information about the vehicle 100 is also input to theECU 300, so that respective controls such as engine control, automaticcontrol, driving control, braking control and the like are alsoperformed in correspondence to command signals transmitted from the ECU300 to the respective units on the basis of the respective information.

A driver can perceive a situation of the region ranging from the rear tothe side and drive the vehicle in correspondence to the perceivedsituation by visually recognizing the left image and the right imagedisplayed on the screens of the displays 200, 200.

As described above, the vehicle lamp 1 is provided with the substrate 26disposed in the outer housing 4 and the camera module 30 and lightemitting elements 29, 29 disposed on the substrate 26.

Therefore, a chassis and a holder are not disposed in the outer housing4, and both the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the camera module 30are disposed on the substrate 26 disposed in the outer housing 4. Thus,the number of the constitutional components is small, so that it ispossible to reduce the number of components of the vehicle lamp 1 andthe size thereof.

In the meantime, the inner surface of the translucent cover 3 may beclouded depending on a temperature difference between the inside of theouter housing 4 and the outside of the outer housing 4. Regarding this,the inner surface of the translucent cover 3 may be subjected to ananti-fogging treatment for solving or preventing fogging.

Also, a heater 47 may be disposed at the outer periphery-side of thetransmission window 23 a of the flat plate surface part 23 of thetranslucent cover 3 (refer to FIG. 15). The heater 47 is embedded in thetranslucent cover 3 or is attached to the outer or inner surface of thetranslucent cover 3 by an adhesive or the like. The power is fed to theheater 47 by the control circuit formed on the substrate 26. As theheater 47, a line heater configured to generate heat as the power is fedthereto can be used.

The heater 47 is disposed at the translucent cover 3, so that it ispossible to melt snow on the transmission window 23 a of the translucentcover 3. Therefore, the appropriate incidence of the capturing light onthe camera module 30 from the transmission window 23 a is not disturbedby the snow, so that it is possible to improve a quality of an image tobe captured by the camera module 30. Also, the heater 47 is disposed atthe translucent cover 3, so that it is possible to solve or prevent thefogging on the inner surface of the translucent cover 3.

In the above, the connector 27, the light emitting elements 29, 29 andthe camera module 30 are disposed on one substrate 26 disposed in theouter housing 4. However, the substrate 26 may be divided into a firstsubstrate 26A and a second substrate 26B (refer to FIG. 16).

The first substrate 26A and the second substrate 26B are connected by aflexible printed wiring board 48. The first substrate 26A is disposed toface in the front and back direction, and the light emitting elements29, 29 and the camera module 30 are disposed on a rear surface of thefirst substrate 26A. The second substrate 26B is disposed to face in theright and left direction in front of the first substrate 26A, thecontrol circuit is formed on one surface of the second substrate 26B andthe connector 27 is disposed on the other surface. The first substrate26A and the second substrate 26B are pressed by a pressing member (notshown) and are thus positioned relative to the housing 2.

In this way, the substrate 26 is divided into the first substrate 26Aand the second substrate 26B, and the first substrate 26A and the secondsubstrate 26B are disposed back and forth to face in the differentdirections, so that the parts of the vehicle lamp 1 to be inserted inthe vehicle 100 can be made small. Therefore, it is possible to reducethe size of the vehicle lamp 1.

In the above, the substrate 26 is divided into the two substrates of thefirst substrate 26A and the second substrate 26B. However, the substrate26 may be divided into three or more substrates, and the necessarycomponents may be respectively disposed on the respective substrates.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 1, the substrate 26 is disposedwith being slightly inclined obliquely downward with respect to thevertical direction along the front surface part 11 and the protrusionpart 8, and at the state where the vehicle lamp 1 is mounted to thevehicle body 101, the optical axis P of the camera module 30 is slightlyinclined obliquely downward with respect to the horizontal direction(refer to FIGS. 7 and 17).

An angle of view ω of the camera module 30 in the upper and lowerdirection is set to 40°, for example, and the optical axis P is inclinedobliquely downward with respect to the horizontal direction, so that theangle of view ω is set to 13° at the upper side and 27° at the lowerside on the basis of the horizontal direction.

In this way, the optical axis P of the camera module 30 is inclinedfurther downward than the horizontal direction, so that the capturingrange of the camera module 30 at the lower side increases. As a result,it is possible to easily check a situation of a road surface 400, sothat it is possible to improve the visibility. For example, it ispossible to favorably recognize recesses, parking lines (white lines)and the like in the vicinity of rear wheels of the vehicle 100, so thatthe convenience is improved when traveling rearward, and the safety isimproved upon the traveling.

In the meantime, since the angle of view ω of the camera module 30 isset to 13° at the upper side on the basis of the horizontal direction,the sufficient capturing range is secured even at the upper side, thevisibility for a vehicle, a pedestrian and the like existing at the rearis also favorable, and the safety can be secured upon the traveling.

In the above, the angle of view ω of the camera module 30 is set to 40°and the optical axis P is set to be downward by 7°. However, the angleof view ω and the direction of the optical axis P are not limited to 40°and the downward direction of 7°. For example, the angle of view ω andthe optical axis P of the camera module 30 can be arbitrarily setinasmuch as the favorable visibility can be secured in the upper andlower direction and the safety can be secured upon the traveling of thevehicle 100.

Also, as described above, the camera module 30 has the rectangular imagepickup element 33, is mounted on the substrate 26 in the direction inwhich the longitudinal direction thereof is the upper and lowerdirection, and is disposed in the direction in which the longitudinaldirection of effective incident region of the capturing light is theupper and lower direction.

Therefore, since it is possible to capture a vertically long image bythe camera module 30, the angle of view is sufficiently secured in theupper and lower direction, so that the capturing range of the cameramodule 30 in the upper and lower direction increases and the visibilitycan be thus improved.

Also, the image pickup element 33 is disposed in the direction in whichthe longitudinal direction of the effective incident region of the lightis the upper and lower direction. Thereby, it is possible to set thelarge angle of view of 40°, to save the manufacturing cost and toimprove the visibility.

In the meantime, as described above, since the optical axis P of thecamera module 30 is inclined further downward than the horizontaldirection, the camera module 30 is also inclined further downward thanthe horizontal direction as much as that (refer to FIG. 7). However,since the transmission window 23 a of the translucent cover 3 is formedto have the vertically long oval shape, the lens 32 located at therearmost side of the camera module 30 is located to face the lower endportion of the transmission window 23 a (refer to FIG. 9).

Therefore, the capturing light is not incident on the lens 32 through apart except for the transmission window 23 a, so that it is possible toimprove a quality of an image to be captured by the camera module 30.

Also, if the transmission window 23 a is formed to have a circularshape, the transmission window 23 a is located at the lower end-side ofthe flat plate surface part 23, so that the appearance is deteriorated.However, when the transmission window 23 a is formed to have a shapesuch as an oval shape that is long in the upper and lower direction andis symmetric with respect to the upper and lower direction, thetransmission window 23 a can be formed at a position of the flat platesurface part 23 that is symmetric with respect to the upper and lowerdirection, so that it is possible to improve the appearance.

Furthermore, the transmission window 23 a is formed to have a shape thatis symmetric with respect to the upper and lower direction, so that thesame translucent cover 3 can be used for the vehicle lamp 1 to bedisposed at the left of the vehicle and the vehicle lamp 1 to bedisposed at the right. Thereby, the components of the vehicle lamp 1 canbe used in common, so that it is possible to save the manufacturingcost.

In the meantime, the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the cameramodule 30 are disposed in the outer housing 4, the lights are emittedfrom the light emitting elements 29, 29 and the capturing lights areincident on the camera module 30. The lights emitted from the lightemitting elements 29, 29 are illuminated outside through the translucentcover 3. However, upon the emission of the lights from the lightemitting elements 29, 29, the emitted lights may be guided toward thetransmission window 23 a along the inside of the translucent cover 3(refer to an arrow A in FIG. 18).

Therefore, as described above, the translucent cover 3 is provided withthe light shield part 25 at the position covering the outer periphery ofthe transmission window 23 a.

Therefore, upon the emission of the lights from the light emittingelements 29, 29, the lights guided along the inside of the translucentcover 3 are shielded not to enter into the transmission window 23 a bythe light shield part 25 and the lights emitted from the light emittingelements 29, 29 are prevented from entering into the camera module 30,so that it is possible to improve a quality of an image to be capturedby the camera module 30.

Also, as described above, in the vehicle lamp 1, the substrate 26 isdisposed with being inclined along the front surface part 11 and theprotrusion part 8 in the right and left direction, and at the statewhere the vehicle lamp 1 is mounted to the vehicle body 101, the opticalaxis P of the camera module 30 is slightly inclined laterally outward inthe front and back direction (refer to FIG. 5).

Therefore, an image ranging from the rear of the vehicle to the rearwardand obliquely lateral side (outer side) is captured by the camera module30, so that the favorable visibility for a vehicle, a pedestrian and thelike existing in the region ranging from the rear of the vehicle to therearward and obliquely lateral side (outer side) is secured and thetraveling safety can be secured.

Like this, the optical axis P of the camera module 30 is slightlyinclined laterally outward in the front and back direction. However, apredetermined angle of view is set for the camera module 30 in the rightand left direction, too, so that a part of the side surface 102 of thevehicle body 101 is captured by the camera module 30 and a part of thecaptured side surface 102 is displayed on the screen of the display 200.

The part of the captured side surface 102 is displayed on the screen ofthe display 200, so that when the driver or the like visibly recognizesthe image being captured, the driver or the like can clearly recognizethe capturing region and the safe driving and the like can be thussecured.

However, a surrounding scene or a road surface may be projected on theside surface 102 of the vehicle body 101, depending on externalenvironments and the like (refer to the left of FIG. 19), so that thedriver or the like may falsely recognize the projected scene or roadsurface as a true scene or road surface, which causes a problem withrespect to the safe driving.

Therefore, in order to prevent the false recognition, the vehicle lamp 1is configured so that the side surface 102 is covered or the outer edgeof the side surface 102 is emphasized on the screen of the display 200by an image distinction means 50 so as to make a visual distinctionbetween the side surface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102.

In the below, each example of the image distinction means 50 and eachprocessing to be performed by the image distinction means 50 aredescribed (refer to FIGS. 19 to 27).

A first example of the image distinction means 50 is that a plate-shapedshade 51 is provided as the image distinction means 50 (refer to FIG.20). The shade 51 is provided at the housing 2, for example, andprotrudes laterally from the rear surface part 12. By the shade 51, thecapturing light for capturing the side surface 102 is shielded.

Therefore, an image in which the side surface 102 is covered by theshade 51 is displayed on the screen of the display 200 (refer to theright of FIG. 19), so that the side surface 102 and a part except forthe side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

In the meantime, the shade 51 may be provided at the translucent cover3, the pressing member 35 or the lens tube 31 of the camera module 30.

Also, the shade 51 may be formed to have a line shape (refer to FIG. 21)covering the outer edge of the side surface 102. In this case, an imagein which the outer edge of the side surface 102 is covered andemphasized by the shade 51 is displayed on the screen of the display 200(refer to FIG. 22), so that the side surface 102 and a part except forthe side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

As described above, the shade 51 configured to shield a part of thecapturing light incident on the camera module 30 is provided as theimage distinction means 50, so that a part of the capturing light isshielded by the shade 51 and the side surface 102 and a part except forthe side surface 102 are thus visually distinguished. Therefore, theside surface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102 are visuallydistinguished by the simple configuration, so that it is possible tosave the manufacturing cost by the simplification of the structure ofthe vehicle lamp 1.

Also, the shade 51 may be formed integrally with the housing 2. When theshade 51 is formed integrally with the housing 2, the side surface 102and a part except for the side surface 102 are visually distinguishedwithout increasing the number of components, and the number ofcomponents of the vehicle lamp 1 is reduced, so that it is possible tofurther simplify the structure and to further save the manufacturingcost.

A second example of the image distinction means 50 is that thetransmission window 23 a of the translucent cover 3 is formed with steps52, 52, . . . , as the image distinction means 50 (refer to FIG. 23).The capturing light having captured the side surface 102 is incident onthe steps 52, 52, . . . .

Therefore, a blurred image in which the side surface 102 is made unclearby the steps 52, 52, . . . is displayed on the screen of the display 200(refer to FIG. 24), so that the side surface 102 and a part except forthe side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

As described above, the steps 52, 52, . . . configured to shield a partof the capturing light incident on the camera module 30 are provided asthe image distinction means 50, so that a part of the capturing lightincident on the camera module 30 is controlled by the steps 52, 52, . .. and the side surface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102are thus visually distinguished. Therefore, the side surface 102 and apart except for the side surface 102 are visually distinguished by thesimple configuration, so that it is possible to save the manufacturingcost by the simplification of the structure of the vehicle lamp 1.

In the meantime, a convex portion 3 b functioning as a vortex generatormay be provided at the outermost portion of the translucent cover 3 inthe right and left direction (refer to FIG. 23). When the translucentcover 3 is provided with the convex portion 3 b, a turbulent flow iscaused in the air flowing along the surface of the translucent cover 3upon the traveling of the vehicle 100, and the flowing air is likely toflow along the transmission window 23 a, so that it is possible toremove the foreign matters attached on the transmission window 23 a uponthe traveling of the vehicle 100.

FIG. 23 depicts the convex portion 23 a extending in the upper and lowerdirection and provided on the translucent cover 3. However, a pluralityof convex portions may be provided with being spaced in the upper andlower direction.

A third example of the image distinction means 50 is that thetransmission window 23 a of the translucent cover 3 is formed with acolored part 53 as the image distinction means 50 (refer to FIG. 25). Acolor of the colored part 53 is arbitrary, and as a material of thecolored part 53, a material though which the capturing light can pass isused.

Therefore, an image in which the side surface 102 is colored by thecolored part 53 is displayed on the screen of the display 200, so thatthe side surface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102 arevisually distinguished.

The colored part 53 may be formed to have a line shape for coloring onlythe outer edge of the side surface 102. In this case, an image in whichthe outer edge of the side surface 102 is colored and emphasized by thecolored part 53 is displayed on the screen of the display 200, so thatthe side surface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102 arevisually distinguished.

As described above, the translucent cover 3 is formed with the coloredpart 53 as the image distinction means 50, so that an image in which theside surface 102 is colored is displayed on the screen and the sidesurface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102 are thus visuallydistinguished. Therefore, the side surface 102 and a part except for theside surface 102 are visually distinguished by the simple configuration,so that it is possible to save the manufacturing cost by thesimplification of the structure of the vehicle lamp 1.

In the meantime, the colored part 53 may have a color by which thecapturing light is shielded or totally reflected without passing throughthe same. In this case, the side surface 102 is not displayed as animage on the screen of the display 200, so that the side surface 102 anda part except for the side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

A fourth example of the image distinction means 50 is that an imageprocessing unit 54 is provided as the image distinction means 50 (referto FIG. 26). The image processing unit 54 may be a signal processingunit provided in the camera module 30 or may be the ECU 300, forexample.

A capturing signal is input to the image processing unit 54, andpredetermined processing is performed by the image processing unit 54 onthe basis of the capturing signal. As the predetermined processing,processing of painting the captured side surface 102 with apredetermined color, processing of painting the outer edge of thecaptured side surface 102 with a predetermined color, processing ofgenerating a computer graphic image having the same shape as thecaptured side surface 102 and superimposing the same on the side surface102 on the screen, processing of generating a computer graphic imagehaving the same shape as the outer edge of the captured side surface 102and superimposing the same on the outer edge of the side surface 102 onthe screen, processing of generating an image of the side surface 102,which has the same shape as the captured side surface 102 and aprojection is not generated therein, and superimposing the same on theside surface 102 on the screen, and the like may be exemplified.

For example, when the processing of generating a computer graphic imagehaving the same shape as the captured side surface 102 and superimposingthe same on the side surface 102 on the screen is performed, a computergraphic image 600 generated by the image processing unit 54 is displayedon the screen of the display 200 at a part at which the side surface 102exists (refer to FIG. 27), so that the side surface 102 and a partexcept for the side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

As described above, the image processing unit 54 configured to processan image captured by the camera module 30 is provided as the imagedistinction means 50, so that the side surface 102 and a part except forthe side surface 102 are visually distinguished by the predeterminedimage processing performed by the image processing unit 54. Therefore, adegree of freedom of the image processing aspect is increased by theimage processing unit 54, so that it is possible to increase the degreeof design freedom and to improve the visibility of the image to bedisplayed on the screen.

A fifth example of the image distinction means 50 is that the display200 is provided with a cover 55 as the image distinction means 50 (referto FIG. 28). The cover 55 has a part to be mounted 55 a having a frameshape and to be attached to an outer edge of the display 200 and acovering part 55 b configured to cover an image of the side surface 102to be displayed on the screen.

Therefore, the side surface 102 to be displayed on the screen of thedisplay 200 is covered by the covering part 55 b of the cover 55, sothat the side surface 102 and a part except for the side surface 102 arevisually distinguished.

In the meantime, the covering part 55 b of the cover 55 may be formed tohave a line shape for covering the outer edge of the side surface 102.In this case, the outer edge of the side surface 102 to be displayed onthe screen of the display 200 is covered by the line-shaped coveringpart 55 b of the cover 55, so that the side surface 102 and a partexcept for the side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

As described above, the cover 55 configured to cover at least a part ofthe side surface 102 to be displayed on the screen of the display 200 isprovided as the image distinction means 50, so that the side surface 102and a part except for the side surface 102 can be visually distinguishedby the simple configuration.

In the meantime, the display 200 may be integrally incorporated inadvance in a dashboard of the vehicle 100, for example. In this case, acovering part having the same shape as the covering part 55 b may beprovided as a part of the dashboard, and at least a part of the sidesurface 102 may be covered by the covering part provided for thedashboard.

Meanwhile, in the vehicle lamp having the light source and the cameramodule and configured to capture the region ranging from the rear to theside by the camera module, it is needed that the capturing region is tobe clearly recognized when the driver or the like visually recognizes animage being captured, so as to secure the safe driving.

Therefore, it is needed that a part of the side surface of the vehiclebody is captured by the camera module and the captured part of the sidesurface is displayed on the screen.

When the side surface of the vehicle body is displayed on the screen, asurrounding scene or a road surface is projected on the side surface ofthe vehicle body, depending on external environments and the like, sothat the driver or the like may falsely recognize the projected scene orroad surface as a true scene or road surface, which causes a problemwith respect to the driving.

Therefore, it is needed to prevent the false recognition on an image,which is to be captured with being projected to the side surface of thevehicle body by the camera module.

As described above, when an image is captured by the camera module 30and is displayed on the screen of the display 200, at least a part ofthe side surface 102 is covered or made unclear on the screen by theimage distinction means 50, so that the side surface 102 and a partexcept for the side surface 102 are visually distinguished.

Therefore, upon the capturing by the camera module 30, the screen of thedisplay 200 is visually recognized with at least a part of the sidesurface 102 being covered or made unclear. Thereby, even when asurrounding scene or road surface is projected on the side surface 102,the driver or the like does not falsely recognize the projected scene orroad surface as a true scene or road surface, so that it is possible toprevent the false recognition on an image, which is to be captured withbeing projected to the side surface 102 by the camera module 30.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 1, the fluid, for example, thehigh-pressure air is discharged from the nozzle 18. As shown in FIG. 29,one end portion of a piping 60 is coupled to the coupling cylinder part20 of the nozzle 18, and the other end portion of the piping 60 iscoupled to a high-pressure air generation unit 61 mounted to a part ofthe vehicle body 101 in the vehicle 100.

The high-pressure air generation unit 61 has a case body 62 and a movingmechanism 63 disposed in the case body 62 (refer to FIG. 30).

An inside of the case body 62 is formed as an arrangement space 64, andthe arrangement space 64 has a motor arrangement part 64 a, a wormarrangement part 64 b and a gear arrangement part 64 c. The motorarrangement part 64 a and the worm arrangement part 64 b are located tocommunicate with each other in the front and back direction, and theworm arrangement part 64 b and the gear arrangement part 64 c arelocated to communicate with each other in the upper and lower direction.A rear end portion of the case body 62 is formed with an insertion hole64 d penetrating in the front and back direction. The insertion hole 64d is configured to communicate with an outside of the case body 62 andthe gear arrangement part 64 c.

The case body 62 is provided with a support shaft part 62 a protrudinglaterally, and the support shaft part 62 a is located in the geararrangement part 64 c.

The moving mechanism 63 includes a driving motor 65, a worm 66 and aworm wheel 67.

The driving motor 65 has a main body part 65 a and a motor shaft 65 b,and the main body part 65 a is disposed in the motor arrangement part 64a.

The worm 66 is coupled and fixed to the motor shaft 65 b, and isdisposed in the worm arrangement part 64 b.

The worm wheel 67 is configured by a driven gear (helical gear) 68 and apinion 69 protruding laterally from a center portion of the driven gear68, which are integrally formed (refer to FIG. 30). The worm wheel 67 isdisposed in the gear arrangement part 64 c, and a center portion thereofis supported to the support shaft part 62 a of the case body 62 via abearing 70.

The driven gear 68 is meshed with the worm 66.

The pinion 69 is disposed coaxially with the driven gear 68, and has anannular part 71 externally fitted and supported to the bearing 70 andgear parts 72, 72, 72 provided at an outer periphery-side of the annularpart 71. The gear parts 72, 72, 72 are equally spaced in acircumferential direction. The gear part 72 is configured by a pluralityof, for example, two gear teeth 72 a, 72 a. The number of the gear teeth72 a of the gear part 72 is arbitrary, and may be one or three or more.

The pinion 69 has a diameter of a tooth tip circle smaller than adiameter of a tooth bottom circle of the driven gear 68. Parts betweenthe gear parts 72, 72, 72 are respectively formed as tooth-missing parts69 a, 69 a, 69 a having no gear teeth 72 a. The tooth-missing parts 69 aare equally spaced in the circumferential direction, and threetooth-missing parts are formed, for example.

A rear end portion of the case body 62 is coupled with a cylinder 73(refer to FIG. 30). The cylinder 73 is coupled with protruding rearwardfrom the case body 62. The cylinder 73 has a piston support part 74 anda coupling protrusion 75 protruding rearward from the piston supportpart 74, which are integrally formed, and a diameter of the pistonsupport part 74 is greater than a diameter of the coupling protrusion75.

An internal space 76 of the piston support part 74 includes a firstspace 76 a, which is a substantial half rear part, and a second space 76b, which is a substantial half front part (refer to FIGS. 31 and 32).

The piston support part 74 is formed in the second space 76 b with airinlet grooves 74 a, 74 a extending in the front and back direction andspaced in the circumferential direction (refer to FIGS. 31 and 32).

The air inlet grooves 74 a, 74 a are formed in the second space 76 b ofthe piston support part 74, so that a diameter of a part of the secondspace 76 b, at which the air inlet grooves 74 a, 74 a are formed, isslightly greater than a diameter of the first space 76 a. A diameter ofa part of the second space 76 b, at which the air inlet grooves 74 a, 74a are not formed, is the same as the diameter of the first space 76 a.The piston support part 74 is formed with stepped surfaces 76 c, 76 c atboundary portions between the first space 76 a and the air inlet grooves74 a, 74 a, respectively (refer to FIG. 32).

The piston support part 74 is formed with an air inlet hole (not shown),so that the exterior air is introduced from the air inlet hole into theair inlet grooves 74 a, 74 a.

A central axis of the coupling protrusion 75 coincides with a centralaxis of the piston support part 74, and the coupling protrusion 75 iscoupled with the other end portion of the piping 3.

A piston 77 is movably supported to the piston support part 74 of thecylinder 73 (refer to FIG. 30). The piston 77 has an operating part 78,which is thin in the front and back direction and has a substantialcylinder shape, and a coupling part 79 protruding obliquely forward andupward from a central portion of the operating part 78, and theoperating part 78 is formed with a circular ring-shaped arrangementgroove 78 a opening outward. An outer diameter of the operating part 78is slightly smaller than the diameter of the first space 76 a of thepiston support part 74. Therefore, a gap 76 d is formed between an outerperipheral surface of the operating part 78 and an inner peripheralsurface of the piston support part 74 in the first space 76 a.

In the arrangement groove 78 a, a seal part 80 is disposed. The sealpart 80 is formed of an elastically deformable rubber or resin, and anouter peripheral portion thereof protrudes outward from the outerperipheral surface of the operating part 78.

The piston 77 is configured to reciprocally move in the front and backdirection between a top dead center and a bottom dead center of thecylinder 73. At the top dead center, the operating part 78 is entirelylocated in the first space 76 a (refer to FIG. 31), and at the bottomdead center, the seal part 80 is entirely located in the second space 76b and a rear end portion of the operating part 78 is located in thefirst space 76 a (refer to FIG. 32).

As the seal part 80 slides along an inner peripheral surface of thecylinder 73 in the first space 76 a (refer to FIG. 31) and the seal part80 slides along an inner peripheral surface of the second space 76 b ata part except for the air inlet grooves 74 a, 74 a of the cylinder 73,the piston 77 is spaced from the inner peripheral surface of the pistonsupport part 74 of the cylinder 73 at the portion at which the air inletgrooves 74 a, 74 a are formed (refer to FIG. 32). Therefore, at thestate where the piston 77 is located at the bottom dead center, the air(exterior air) introduced into the second space 76 b passes through thegap 76 d along the stepped surfaces 76 c, 76 c and flows toward thefirst space 76 a.

The coupling part 79 of the piston 77 is coupled with a rack 81extending in the front and back direction. The rack 81 is formedintegrally with the piston 77, for example.

The rack 81 is formed with a rack part 82 in the vicinity of a front endthereof. The rack part 82 is configured by three rack teeth 82 a, 82 a,82 a, for example. The number of the rack teeth 82 a of the rack part 82is arbitrary, and may be two or less or four or more. The rack 81 isinserted into the insertion hole 64 d of the case body 62, and the rackpart 82 can be meshed with the gear part 72 of the pinion 69 of the wormwheel 67.

An urging spring 83 is supported in the piston support part 74 of thecylinder 73 between the operating part 78 of the piston 77 and an outersurface of the case body 62. The urging spring 83 is a compression coilspring, for example, and the piston 77 and the rack 81 are urgedrearward by the urging spring 83. In the meantime, regrading a movingdirection of the piston 77, a rearward direction in which the air is tobe delivered is a delivery direction, and the piston 77 and the rack 81are urged in the delivery direction by the urging spring 83.

The high-pressure air generation unit 61 is operated as follows (referto FIGS. 33 to 35).

First, an initial state before the high-pressure air is delivered isdescribed (refer to FIG. 33).

At the initial state, the piston 7 is located at the top dead center,and the rack 81 is located at the tooth-missing part 69 a without therack part 82 being meshed with the gear parts 72, 72, 72 of the pinion69.

When the driving motor 65 starts to drive at the initial state and adriving force of the driving motor 65 is transmitted to the worm wheel67 via the worm 66, the gear part 72 of the pinion 69 is meshed with therack part 82 of the rack 81 (refer to FIG. 34). Therefore, as the pinion69 rotates, the rack 81 moves in an opposite direction to the deliverydirection against the urging force of the urging spring 83.

When the rack 81 moves in the opposite direction to the deliverydirection as the pinion 69 rotates, the meshing between the gear part 72and the rack part 82 is released at a predetermined position and thepiston 77 is located at the bottom dead center (refer to FIG. 35). Atthe state where the piston 77 is located at the bottom dead center, asdescribed above, the air (exterior air) introduced into the second space76 b passes through the gap 76 d along the stepped surfaces 76 c, 76 cand flows toward the first space 76 a.

The piston 77 having moved to the bottom dead center is moved in thedelivery direction at higher speed than the moving speed in the oppositedirection to the delivery direction by the urging force of the urgingforce because the meshing between the gear part 72 and the rack part 82is released, and the air introduced into the first space 76 a from thesecond space 76 b passes the coupling protrusion 75 from the pistonsupport part 74 and is delivered toward the nozzle 18 of the nozzle unit2. At this time, since the diameter of the coupling protrusion 75 of thecylinder 73 is smaller than the diameter of the piston support part 74,the air delivered from the piston support part 74 through the couplingprotrusion 75 is compressed to be a high-pressure air, which is thendelivered from the piping 3 toward the coupling protrusion 75. Then, thehigh-pressure air is injected from the nozzle 18 and is ejected to thetransmission window 23 a of the translucent cover 3.

The high-pressure air injected from the nozzle 18 is ejected to thetransmission window 23 a, so that the foreign matters such as dust, mud,drop of water and the like attached to the transmission window 23 a areblown off and the contamination of the transmission window 23 a is thussolved.

In the meantime, when the piston 77 is located in the vicinity of thetop dead center with being stopped at any position, the gear part 72 ofthe pinion 69 is not meshed with the rack part 82 of the rack 81, andthe piston 77 is moved to the top dead center by the urging force of theurging spring 83.

In the vehicle lamp having the camera module, the capturing light passesthrough the transmission window of the translucent cover and enters intothe camera module. Therefore, a quality of an image to be captured bythe camera module and to be displayed on the screen may be deteriorateddepending on a state of the translucent cover.

In particular, since the vehicle travels outdoor, a possibility that theforeign matters such as raindrops, dust, mud and the like will beattached to the translucent cover is high depending on the weather,traveling states and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to improve aquality of an image to be displayed on the screen so as to improve thesafety upon the traveling of the vehicle.

Therefore, it is needed to improve a quality of an image to be capturedby the camera module.

As described above, in the vehicle lamp 1, the fluid discharged from thenozzle 18 is ejected to the transmission window 23 a. Therefore, theforeign matters such as moisture, dust, mud and the like attached to thetransmission window 23 a are removed, so that a quality of an image tobe captured by the camera module can be improved.

In particular, since the vehicle 100 travels outdoor, a possibility thatthe foreign matters such as raindrops, dust, mud and the like will beattached to the translucent cover 3 is high depending on the weather andthe traveling states. Therefore, it is possible to improve a quality ofan image to be displayed on the screen of the display 200, therebyimproving the safety upon the traveling of the vehicle 100.

Also, in the outer housing 4, the light emitting elements 29, 29configured to emit the lights to the outside of the camera module 30 aredisposed. Therefore, the lights emitted from the light emitting elements29, 29 are illuminated outside, so that the functionality of the vehiclelamp 1 functioning as the image pickup device for vehicle can beimproved.

Furthermore, since the high-pressure air is used as the fluid, thevarious kinds of foreign matters including liquid attached to thetransmission window 23 a are removed, so that it is possible to improvea quality of an image to be captured by the camera module 30,irrespective of types of the foreign matters attached to thetransmission window 23 a.

In the meantime, as the fluid, a liquid such as a cleaning solution, acleaning water or the like, which contains the other gas, cleaning agentand the like, can be used in addition to the high-pressure air. When theliquid is used as the fluid, a liquid storage tank and a liquid supplydevice configured to supply the liquid from the storage tank toward thenozzle 18 are provided, instead of the high-pressure air generation unit61.

However, when the liquid is used as the fluid, droplets discharged fromthe nozzle 18 may remain on the transmission window 23 a. Therefore, itis more preferably to use the high-pressure air, which does not leavethe remnant of droplets on the transmission window 23 a, as the fluid.Also, when the liquid is used as the fluid, a weight of the vehicle 100increases due to the storage tank and the liquid stored in the storagetank, which increases the manufacturing cost. Therefore, it ispreferably to use the high-pressure air as the fluid, from standpointsof the reduction in weight of the vehicle 100 and the manufacturingcost.

Also, the outer surface of the transmission window 23 a of thetranslucent cover 3 is preferably water repellent finished. When thewater repellent finishing is performed on the outer surface of thetransmission window 23 a, the drops of water are more difficult to beattached to the transmission window 23 a, so that it is possible tofurther improve a quality of an image to be captured by the cameramodule 30.

Furthermore, the transmission window 23 a may be subjected to a hardcoating treatment. When the transmission window 23 a is hard coated, thetransmission window 23 a is prevented from being cut or damaged, so thatit is possible to further improve a quality of an image to be capturedby the camera module 30.

The fluid is discharged from the nozzle 18 when an engine of the vehicle100 starts, when a driving signal is output to the light emittingelements 29, 29, when a passenger such as a driver operates a dischargestart switch provided in the vehicle interior so as to discharge thefluid, when a shift lever is changed to a back gear, and the like, forexample. Also, the fluid may be discharged from the nozzle 18, inassociation with an operation of a wiper or a discharge operation of awasher solution. Furthermore, the fluid may be discharged from thenozzle 18 at a point of time at which bad weather information isobtained in the weather information of a navigation system or at a pointof time at which a person, a vehicle or the like is detected by a rearview camera provided for the vehicle 100, for example.

In particular, when the fluid discharge from the nozzle 18 is performedupon startup of the engine of the vehicle 100, the foreign mattersattached to the transmission window 23 a are removed each before thevehicle 100 starts to travel. Therefore, a quality of an image to becaptured by the module camera 30 during the traveling is improved, whichcontributes to the safe driving.

Also, when the fluid discharge from the nozzle 18 is performed upon theshift to the back gear of the vehicle 100, the foreign matters attachedto the transmission window 23 a are removed each before the vehicle 100starts to move rearward. Therefore, a quality of an image to be capturedby the module camera 30 during the rearward traveling is improved, whichcontributes to the safe driving.

In the above, the nozzle 18 is provided integrally with the rear surfacepart 12 of the housing 2. However, for example, the nozzle 18 may beintegrally provided at a portion extending from the rear surface part 12to the bottom surface part 13 (refer to FIG. 36).

When the nozzle 18 is integrally provided at a portion extending fromthe rear surface part 12 to the bottom surface part 13, the protrusiondirection of the coupling cylinder part 20 of the nozzle 18 is a forwarddirection, which is the same direction as the protrusion direction ofthe connector 27 relative to the substrate 26. Therefore, it is possibleto perform an operation of connecting a connection terminal of thevehicle 100-side to the connector 27 and an operation of connecting thepiping 60 to the nozzle 18 from the same direction, which improves theoperability.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 . . . vehicle lamp (image pickup device for vehicle), 2 . . . housing3 . . . translucent cover, 4 . . . outer housing, 23 a . . .transmission window 25 . . . light shield part, 26 . . . substrate, 29 .. . light emitting element 30 . . . camera module, 33 . . . image pickupelement, 35 . . . pressing member 26A . . . first substrate, 26B . . .second substrate, 101 . . . vehicle body 102 . . . side surface, 50 . .. image distinction means, 51 . . . shade, 52 . . . step 53 . . .colored part, 54 . . . image processing unit, 100 . . . vehicle, 18 . .. nozzle

1. A vehicle lamp comprising: an outer housing comprising a housinghaving an opening and a translucent cover configured to close theopening; a substrate disposed in the outer housing; a camera modulecomprising an image pickup element and disposed on the substrate, and alight emitting element provided as a light source and disposed on thesubstrate.
 2. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the cameramodule and the light emitting element are disposed on the same surfaceof the substrate.
 3. The vehicle lamp according to claim 1, furthercomprising a pressing member disposed in the outer housing and mountedto the housing, wherein the substrate is pressed by the pressing memberand is thus positioned relative to the housing.
 4. The vehicle lampaccording to claim 3, wherein a part of the pressing member is providedas a light shield part for shielding a part of a light to be emittedfrom the light emitting element.
 5. The vehicle lamp according to claim1, wherein an effective incident region of a capturing light of theimage pickup element is formed into a shape having a longitudinaldirection and a width direction, and wherein the image pickup element isdisposed in a direction in which the longitudinal direction of theeffective incident region is an upper and lower direction.
 6. Thevehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein an optical axis of the cameramodule is inclined more downward than a horizontal direction.
 7. Thevehicle lamp according to claim 1, wherein the translucent cover isprovided with a transmission window through which a capturing light tobe incident on the camera module is to pass, and wherein the translucentcover is provided with a light shield part for preventing a light, whichis to be emitted from the light emitting element and to be guided alongan inside of the translucent cover, from entering into the transmissionwindow.
 8. An image pickup device for vehicle comprising: a cameramodule of which a capturing range is set as a region ranging from therear to the side, including a part of a side surface of a vehicle body,wherein when an image is captured and displayed on a screen by thecamera module, at least the part of the side surface is covered or madeunclear on the screen by an image distinction means, so that the sidesurface and a part except for the side surface are visuallydistinguished.
 9. The image pickup device for vehicle according to claim8, wherein a shade for shielding a part of the capturing light to beincident on the camera module is provided as the image distinctionmeans.
 10. The image pickup device for vehicle according to claim 9,wherein the housing and the shade are integrally formed.
 11. The imagepickup device for vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the translucentcover is formed with a step as the image distinction means.
 12. Theimage pickup device for vehicle according to claim 8, wherein thetranslucent cover is formed with a colored part having a predeterminedcolor, as the image distinction means.
 13. The image pickup device forvehicle according to claim 8, wherein an image processing unitconfigured to process an image captured by the camera module is providedas the image distinction means.
 14. A vehicle lamp comprising the imagepickup device for vehicle according to claim 8 and a light source. 15.An electronic control unit configured so that when an image is capturedand displayed on a screen by a camera module of which a capturing rangeis set as a region ranging from the rear to the side, including a partof a side surface of a vehicle body, at least the part of the sidesurface is covered or made unclear on the screen by an image distinctionmeans and the side surface and a part except for the side surface arethus visually distinguished.
 16. An image pickup device for vehiclecomprising: an outer housing comprising a housing having an opening anda translucent cover configured to close the opening; a camera modulecomprising an image pickup element and disposed in the outer housing,and a nozzle having a discharge hole configured to discharge a fluid,wherein the translucent cover is provided with a transmission windowthrough which a capturing light to be incident on the camera module isto pass, and wherein the discharge hole is made to face toward thetransmission window.
 17. The image pickup device for vehicle accordingto claim 16, wherein a light emitting element functioning as a lightsource configured to emit a light is disposed in the outer housing. 18.The image pickup device for vehicle according to claim 16, wherein thehousing and the nozzle are integrally formed.
 19. The image pickupdevice for vehicle according to claim 16, wherein a high-pressure air isused as the fluid.
 20. The image pickup device for vehicle according toclaim 16, wherein an outer surface of at least the transmission windowof the translucent cover is water repellent finished.
 21. The imagepickup device for vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the fluid isdischarged from the nozzle upon startup of an engine of a vehicle. 22.The image pickup device for vehicle according to claim 16, wherein thefluid is discharged from the nozzle upon shift to a back gear of avehicle.